Cheltenham is here, preview with the help of the LRC

Cheltenham with the London Racing Club

Cheltenham's first big meeting of the year, I mean really big, is within touching distance now and I'm definitely not alone in being one hugely excited National Hunt fan! This excitement was only fuelled further by the fantastic preview night put on by the London Racing Club, where they looked ahead to Cheltenham and the season as a whole with a panel chaired by Sam Lawrie and featuring Nick Watts, Declan Rix and John Ivan-Duke. It was a 2 1/2 hour event jam packed with information and thoughts from the panel and a top, top evening. So I thought I'd blog about the experience, splitting into two parts. The first here; Cheltenham thoughts for the comping weekend from the panel and myself before a blog at a later date with some of the nuggets the panel shared for the season ahead.

Cheltenham Friday

Well lets start with the 1.50, glossing over the amature handicap that kicks off proceedings, and here NW was mad keen on the chances of Next Sensation. He reasoned that a mark of 145 was a great mark, his course form would stand him in good stead and he has also had the benefit of a prep run at Ascot to get him spot on for this assignment. There were no disagreements from the panel and a price of 12/1 looks very fair with this 2 mile trip sure to suit. Obviously in a huge 20 runner handicap nothing is a good thing but if you do back Next Sensation with his run style you will definitely get some excitement along the way!

We moved swiftly onto the 2.25, a Novice Chase Where we heard DR, the go to man for Irish Form, say that he really  was not keen on the WIllie Mullins novice chasers entered at the meeting due to the double penalties the three entered up from the WM yard would have to carry. An astute point considering they would also no doubt be short prices and one I noted keenly. DR would be looking outside the WM yard for his Novice CHasers. I was really pleased to hear both JID and NW put up Champagne West for this one; a classic chaser in the making and will also not mind the forecast conditions with form in heavy ground. For me I can't have Colour Squadron for this race at 9/4, does he really want to win? There are a lot of hot horses for the season here, Urban Hymn will love the ground and jumped well on debut, Splash of Ginge and Dell Arca have hot hurdles form from last year and Splash has already shown an aptitude for fences whilst even Bullet Street, despite his price, could show the benefit of experience over his less experienced chasing rivals. However for me, NW and JID Champagne West is the one for tomorrow and one I am hugely excited for as a Novice Chaser this season; a really hot race though.

For the 3.00 I had my alert through this evening for tracker horse Blaklion, unbeaten under rules for the Nigel Twiston-Davis yard and one who looks to have a fab attitude for racing. He has already won a race of this class when victorious last time out, has form on soft ground and Jamie Moore, who takes the mount tomorrow, is in good form in the saddle. However NW did raise the point at the preview of the headgear this horse has worn before, saying he could certainly see why he needs it, and I am a little concerned to see the hood left off tomorrow especially in the atmospherical cauldron that is Cheltenham. Look a little down the card and you see a certain Mr R Walsh riding for Jonjo O'Neil on Champagne Present, a horse NW thought would do better, along with the exciting flat recruit Parlour Games. The presence of these two, especially the Walsh mount, could ensure that Blaklion gets to a mark around 2/1 tomorrow and if that happens I'd be tempted. Much shorter though and the lack of headgear plus the two relatively unknown horses in the race would prevent me playing here, as much as I do admire Blaklion.

That was the end of the race by race previews for the Friday card from the panel, however Nick Watts did go on to flag a couple who he liked elsewhere. Firstly Cup Final, and I cannot stress how much NW fancied this one! He thought the horse, who runs in the 4.05 for the team of Geraghty/Henderson was absolutely thrown in on his mark of 125. He has good form from last season in the bag and steps into Handicap company here tomorrow, at Even money the way NW was talking you had a banker! Finally he put one up in the XC race, brave man, in the lovable old Carruthers who makes his debut in this sphere. NW would be more keen with some rain on this one's chances but thought the new discipline could bring about improvement for this classy type who has been good enough to win the Hennessy in his time.

That was all the panel mentioned on the Friday of the Cheltenham meet and we moved swiftly onto the Saturday, starting with the big one...

The Paddy Power Gold Cup

 Let me put my thoughts out there first and then tell you what the panel thought. Basically I'm with Buywise for this one. He ran an absolute belter of a race at the Festival last year, if he had jumped properly he would have won doing handstands, however because he didn't he is still on a very nice mark. The soft ground we will almost definitely have on Saturday won't pose any issues at all, and connections will surely have been schooling him repeatedly given the well known jumping concerns. Finally he won on his reappearance, over hurdles round a sharp track over a distance less than ideal...very impressive and a great pipe-opener showing him to have summered well. Buywise is definitely the one for me.
JID likes the chances of Indian Castle if it came up very heavy, thinking he may lack toe if it didn't. However thought the chances of the market principles Present View and Buywise were obvious and very real, big losers in the WIlliam Hill book.
Champion Court could be the value for JID, he was the 6/1 favourite for this race last year, dropped 6lbs since that run on his old form JID thought he could go very close and liked his price.
DR thought you could overlook the Irish Challenge, and pointed out that apparently the Henderson yard had been struggling to get Oscar Whiskey ready for this one. The two he liked were firstly Buywise, but because of his jumping he would be purely a win only bet and mentioned the good record of 7 year olds in the race as well.  Secondly he liked Persian Snow, also a runner in the Handicap at last years Cheltenham festival that Present View won, however he is much better at the weights on Saturday than Present View, Buywise and Johns Spirit. Of even more interest to DR if it rains.
NW fancied John's Spirit if it rained, while also saying Eastern Meteor off 148 could be very interesting and one to look out for outside the top of the marked.
The shocking win record of Colour Squadron was flagged up here but he no longer goes for the race, however the comments still apply as I mentioned earlier he is entered up on friday, and shockingly as a favourite!

The Rest of Saturday

The Paddy Power was the only race previewed in depth by the panel, however we did have selections in other races and I will briefly list them here.

NW In the 1.50 flagged up Our Father, but ONLY FOR SATURDAY and not the rest of the season due to his amazing record fresh and awful record any other time! The more rain the better for David Pipe's horse as well. The rest of the panel liked this one.
In the 3 mile Chase at 1.15 he flagged up Salsanito Sunrise for Philip Hobbs.


DR thought Rouge Angel was VERY interesting in the 1.50 against My Father for Mouse Morris. DR said this horse looks in rude health, showed great attitude on reappearance in a Galway race where he finished 2nd and can see him running a big race. However he did re-affirm his liking for Our Father in the same race, tricky!

JID went to the 3.00 where he put up Vieux Lion Rouge for David Pipe, who ran a shocker at the Cheltenham festival when rated very highly by John but he was keeping the faith and thought there was more to come as a 5 year old.

Personally myself for Saturday well...I'll be on Kings Palace in the 1.15; his record fresh reads win win, he was a top staying novice last season and really well fancies for the Albert Bartlett where he fell at the final flight. However he is effective on most surfaces and also I've heard he has schooled well. Pipe has won this race previously (2012) with chasing débutante Our Father so Kings Palace is the one I will be on here with Deputy Dan the biggest danger.

I'll be hoping for a quickfire Pipe double come the 1.50 as I also love Our Father, although have nothing further to add to NW's thoughts just love this one fresh (Record 1117) especially off 136 when he went off fav in the Hennessy off 147.

Friday Update; Unfortunately Our Father does not appear in the decs for tomorrow's race, so in his absence I'll be chancing Paul Nicholls horse Sam Winner here. He has bags of Cheltenham form, winning three times around here and won around this time last year when defeating the smart Le Bec. He also has a 5th place finish in the RSA Chase showing his stamina for the longer distances, and can summon a 2nd place behind SMad Place on heavy ground in his back catalogue for anyone with ground concerns. The tongue tie is applied by the master trainer for this race and I'm hoping that despite carrying top weight Sam Winner can put up a bold showing here.

Finally Bitofapuzzle for Harry fry in the mares bumper could be smart although This is a hot race. However she will love the mud and stays all day so could be coming up the hill very strongly. She has wins from a 3 mile p2p as well as form under rules, with conditions sure to favour her in hopeful of a nice price.

The rest of the card is still to be narrowed down for me, I'll probably wait until the day for that though.

Friday Update; I quite like the chances of Suzy Smiths Invicta Lake in the 3.00. Suzy has her string in cracking form and you can still get 14/1 about this last time out winner; that would definitely be shorter were Invicta Lake with a more 'fashionable' trainer. Providing conditions don't deteriorate further he could reward e/w investment with the trainer confident the Cheltenham course will suit.

That was it for the Saturday, and I almost dropped my phone trying to get a bet on Our Father quick enough after what the panel had to say! However they moved swiftly on to the Sunday and I had to get my pen and paper back out...



The Greatwood Hurdle

 Well I can sum this up in 1 word; Vaniteux. The panel put this up as their charity bet for the evening, even Sam Lawrie was giving his opinion out saying it was all about the top weight for him here. JID told punters to hold off as he couldn't see this one getting too much shorter, indeed thought some bookies would go standout bigger prices on Sunday, but did admit he would take all the beating. NW said that rain would be a bit of a negative though. DR said that Vaniteux could well outclass the field, even carrying top weight may not be enough, and while his price was about right he certainly wasn;t the value angle. Basically all the panel thought the top weight Henderson horse was the most likely winner by some way, hence the charity bet being placed on this one; all £200 of it as well!
Looking away fro the top weight JID liked Pine Creek at the price; a horse who goes well fresh, won first time out last year and was a huge price at 20/1. He also thought Exitas, although carrying a penalty for his Sandown win, could go well and be a bigger price than his form deserved because of his slightly unfashionable trainer. Still 7/1 a bit short with the penalty. NW was also keen on Exitas, however would be more keen on Baradari for the Williams yard if it turned really heavy. He said the Fred Winter 5th was good form but he really must have it heavy as otherwise won't have the toe for this one. Finally for NW Regal Encore off a mark of 130 must be of some interest given that one of the horses that beat him last season is now rated in the 150's (Seeyouatmidnight). However he must start to put this potential into action on the track and the Greatwood was really time to deliver, still 14.1 was a tempting price for NW.
SL thought Baltimore Rock would have been more popular with the punters.
DR agreed with NW on Baradari, an eyecatcher rattling home up the hill in the Fred Winter on spring ground that wouldn't have suited massively. He will come on for his comeback and the softer ground on Saturday could make him a value bet. Of the Mullin's 2 in the race DR was put off Daneking by the shocking record of front-running sorts in this race, and Daneking wasn't amazingly handicapped either. Clondow Warrior could lack experience for a test of this nature. The main selection for Declan in the Greatwood was Goodwood mirage, and he put forward a very convincing argument for O'Neil's charge here; Gelded over the summer this operation was always going to help GM jump a bit better, DR said he would be slightly more comfortable over his hurdles with less dangling away! He was impressed with his comeback victory at Wetherby, where despite showing keenness and getting no cover at all he jumped in a far more impressive manner and won well. Add that the the fact not many of Jonjo's win first time up and there is definitely improvement to come from that first run. DR thought the gelding operation could really help this expensive recruit  fulfil his potential, 12/1 was a good price but as mentioned Vaniteux could absolutely outclass the field.

The Rest of Sunday

NW liked Uxizandre in the Sholer Chase over 2 miles, thought it was a good shout by Alan King with the absence of Sire De Grugy to see if Uxizandre had the speed for 2 miles. He has had a run to put in straight at Aintree earlier in the season and could go well.

DR said Darling Carlotta was the only Irish interest and she goes for WIllie Mullins in the closing bumper on the card. Bottom weight, carrying 10 stone 7lbs compared to 11 stone that her rivals shoulder could prove vital and she is the Irish interest for DR.
Finally DR put up Dodging Bullets in the Sholer against Uxizandre, saying first time out could be the time to catch him.

Finally for me on Sunday. Oscarteea really impressed me on his hurdling debut at Ffos Las this season where he scored easily and he could go well in the 1.35, the Supreme Novices Hurdle trial. Commissioned could be top class but I prefer Oscarteea especially if the ground is testing.
In the 2.10, the Arkle Trial, if Urban Hymn runs well on Friday then Duke of Navan will be of even more interest here. However Vibrato Valtat made a huge impression of his Fencing debut at Warwick earlier this season, beating Thomas Crapper with ease and having Grumeti, one with fencing experience, a way back in the field. He did that so easily you have to fancy more is to come here and I take him to win the Arkle trial, although as I mention a big win for Urban Hymn on Friday may lead me to reconsider!
I'm on Goodwood Mirage for the Greatwood, DR convinced me! And lastly I'll put up Dodging Bullets, a real early season horse, for the Sholer Chase. His record fresh is very good (211 first time out) and has some good fencing experience from last year which can help him overcome his rivals here.

Saturday Update; Oscartea no longer goes in the 1.35 so I'm a bit taken by the Govaness, a smart bumper type who receives weight off the field here. She has won at the track before and hopefully her jumping will come on for her hurdling debut, if so she has a serious engine and could be a bit of value at 10/1. I'm sticking with Duke of Navan in the Arkle trial as he will love the ground, is already proven in a battle over fences (something I worry about with the Nicholls shortie) and Urban Hymn ran well on Friday, just beaten by 2 smart horses. Dodging Bullets is the selection in the Sholer chase with his record early season and fresh, Sam and Paul are going well with a double today and he can give them another winner tomorrow. Not swaying from Goodwood Mirage in the Greatwood. Finally Little King Robin can provide a bit of value in the feature race over in Ireland. Given I think the Fly and Jezki will be watching each other like hawks there is a chance this admirable mare could get a big lead out in from, from which position you could trade out your bet or sit back and wait and see if the big guns can reel her in. I do hope the Fly wins, purely from an emotional POV, but this little mare is the bet in the race for me.


And that was it for the Cheltenham preview from the guys! No doubt I've missed a bit but it really was a great and information packed preview, I can't recommend going to one of these events enough if you get a chance. We broke for an interval after this, before coming back for the season preview as  whole, but more of that on a later blog. I just wanted to get the Cheltenham Preview out there before the weekend as it won't be much good after, and once again thanks to the London Racing Club for a top evening!

Let me quickly summarise what I took out of this most of all though; Our Father should run a blinder first time up, Vaniteux could produce something VERY special on Sunday but DR did twist my arm around about Goodwood Mirage as some value and nothing was said to put me off Buywise in the Paddy Power.

If you have any Cheltenham thoughts please share away!

Stonegate impresses at Sandown Park and a few more Sandown Stories

It's been another fun weekend for National Hunt fans, and with the November Handicap being run up at Doncaster we really are clear of the flat and can plough on full stream ahead with the Jumps game, after all the big Paddy Power meeting at Cheltenham is only a few days away now! This weekend was a bit lower key that the previous weekend however we still saw some good action, for example former Champion Hurdler Rock on Ruby was out at Wincanton and we had some cracking stuff over in Ireland on Sunday with a beautiful display of jumping shown by Gilgamboa in the beginner chase probably the highlight. However I'm going to fully focus on the action from Sandown Park for this week's blog mainly because I made the trip to the lovely Esher circuit and had a top time of it (not on the betting front sadly!)

Runners going past the winning post on a lap of Sandown Park

The going was pretty testing at Sandown, and combined with the stiff uphill finish that the track has made for pretty tough conditions for the horses and riders alike; the conditions that the concluding bumper were run in were nothing short of atrocious with rain lashing down and the course almost in darkness! However the performance of Stonegate in the closing contest was one of the shining lights on the day, a really impressive debut from Gary Moore's brother to Megastar, but more on that later.

The card started with a 12 race maiden finally getting off the mark, with Little Boy Boru fairly storming home under Micheal Nolan for trainer Suzy Smith. Nolan is a great jockey to have on board in these conditional jockey events as he is an experienced pilot now and is certainly a great help to his horse.

Next up was a 3 runner Novices Chase with the market headed by Paul Nicholls Irish Saint, impressive over hurdles last season and now trying his hand at the chasing game. His rivals in this field, Chris Pea Green and Gone too Far, didn't have the class of Irish Saint over hurdles but did have the benefit of prior chasing experience so the question was whether that experience would prove a leveller or not. Well not in the case of Gone too Far who fell at the first, but Chris Pea Green did briefly look like having the odds on favourite in trouble at one point. However coming over the last Irish Saint really asserted and pulled well clear in impressive fashion, impressing in such a manner that saw him cut into 16/1 for the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival in March. I actually thought that Irish Saint looked quite small before and backed his rivals yesterday, however as soon as they raced off I was impressed with his fencing, the way he jumped definitely belied his experience and he was really impressive over the tough Railway fences, obstacles that have claimed many an experienced jumper in the past. It will be interesting to see where he goes next and how his jumping holds up when he has a few more rivals in the field than just a solo horse for company! Chris Pea Green went down admirably in defeat and there are surely lower grade races to be won with this genuine horse.

The Moore family managed to go one better in the 3rd race on the card as Baron Alco really looked the part on his hurdling debut taking the Juvenile Hurdle by 8 lengths despite a mistake at the last. He is a really inexperienced horse, only visiting the racecourse once before yesterday, so will definitely improve a tonne for this run.

The 4th race on the card had me interested in two horses; Loose Chips and Bally Legend. Although neither could finish in the frame yesterday as Sound Investment provided Paul Nicholls with his 2nd winner on the card, I'be still be keen on both going into the future especially as the handicapped should relent a bit on the pair. I heard Charlie Longsdon, trainer of Loose Chips, discuss how he hoped that his charge would be dropped to a mark of 135 to allow him to contest slightly lower grade handicaps. It was thought that the trip was a bit too sharp and the opposition a bit too hot meaning Loose Chips was always going a bit to far. Back up in trip next time out he is of interest, even more so if he can get lowered to a mark of 135. Similarly Bally Legend was never happy at this lesser trip and he really needs at least 3 miles now. However he is a wonderfully genuine and game horse and is another to note next time out off a lower mark and back up in trip. Two for the tracker possibly from this contest.

Horses coming into the un-saddling enclosure.

I'd also take The Brok Again into my tracker after his 3rd place finis in the 5th race; He looked a beautiful specimen in the paddock before the race and in going down to Exitas, a horse bringing up the hat-trick, definitely did himself no disgrace on his British debut. Exitas has really gone on an impressive roll early season for Phil Middleton and is now proven on good and soft ground leaving his trainer with a few options, mark dependant, over where he goes next. However The Brok Again, with much improvement expected with this experience under his belt, is the one to take from the race for me.

I was gutted in the 3.40 as one of my strongest fancies on the card, Lookslikerainted ran a stinker and was pulled up long before the race got going as a contest. He jumped so well last time out in victory that I was certain he would love the test of Sandown, however his technique absolutely went to pot and never looked like being competitive over the 3 mile contest eventually won in impressive manner by Le Reve, a 21 length winner for Lucy Wadham and Dougie Costello. Heavily Punted favourite Loch Ba also disappointed massively, joining my fancy in being pulled up but actually running an even worse race! The going was getting really testing by this point, conditions Le Reve absolutely loves and he certainly made hay yesterday.

It was all down to the lucky last for me now as without doubt my biggest fancy Stonegate ran here. I heard Gary Moore give this one a real positive mention in a stable tour of his yard earlier this week; a full brother to the very smart Megastar running in the bumper won by said brother 5 years ago; surely Moore had a smart one on his hands here. I didn't back the horse despite his early prices of 5/1 being available, and was regretting this once the opening show went up. 2/1 was the general price available and there had definitely been a course whisper or two for Stonegate all afternoon but I took the price all the same, I didn't have much choice now! The runners went out in absolutely atrocious conditions for this one, driving rain and near darkness welcomed them down at the start line, however Stonegate made light of the conditions and absolutely bolted up, easy as you like, a really impressive winner.

Conditions before the closing bumper, could have done with a floodlight or two!

Trainer Gary Moore has said that he may keep Stonegate for the flat or run him in another bumper as despite the impressive nature of his victory yesterday he is still a baby (despite his size...this horse is MASSIVE!!!) and has plenty of time on his side. I'm sure we will be hearing plenty more of this talented performer in the future.

That's it from Sandown and from this blog though folks but fear not; We've got a belting week to look forward too over jumps with the Paddy Power meeting coming up next weekend at Cheltenham. Before that Champagne Fever and Sizing Europe are set to clash at Clonmel next Thursday and Shutthefrontdoor makes his reappearance at Carlisle tomorrow. No doubt about it the jumps season is really getting going and these are exiting times for all jumps fans!

Thanks for reading!

AB

Living for the weekend-Hobbs certainly is!

We're all familiar with the term 'Living for the weekend'; after slogging away all week at work those 2 days break from the routine that always go way too quickly for our liking. Well another man who is certainly living for the weekend is trainer Philip Hobbs after Menorah helped him take the feature race on the Saturday jumps cards in England, backing up the win of Wishful Thinking last weekend. Menorah won the Charlie Hall Chase up at Wetherby in authoritative fashion, beating the staying on Taquin Du Seuil by 4 lengths, the flatter track probably playing more into the winner's hands than the runner up. Any Ante-Post backers of Taquin for the Cheltenham Gold Cup should not be too dispirited by this defeat, the horse made it look like he would stay the Gold Cup trip and the undulating nature of the Cheltenham track, one he is proven over, may bring out the best in him come March. However today Menorah was more suited by conditions and he could now head to the King George at Kempton over Christmas as that is run over a similar flat track to the one he was so impressive over this weekend and he would certainly deserve a place towards the head of the market for the Boxing Day Chase. Silviniaco Conti was deeply unimpressive,  the way he was ridden initially made it seen like Nicholls thought he was plenty fit enough but the way he folded tamely was quite concerning. It could be that Conti was another of the Nicholls horses who quite obviously need their first run, however Conti had actually been taken for a racecourse gallop at Chepstow the week before (according to Vanessa Ryle of ATR) so this really should not have been the case. It'll be interesting to see if he turns up at Haydock for the Betfair Chase on the back of this, I'd not be keen on taking a short price on him for that race. Even though I voiced concerns over the price of Conti in my ante post piece he still was the best horse on figures in the Charlie Hall field and should have run much better than he did, 100% fit or not. My ante-post fancy Medermit so narrowly failed to get me a return on my advised e/w bet with 3 places still on offer earlier in the week as he was denied 3rd place by just half a length...gutting!

Menorah takes the feature at Wetherby, Medermit staying on but not enough to land my ante-post bet sadly

Elswehere on the card we had the re-appearance of At Fishers Cross in the 3 runner 3m 1f Grade 2 hurdle and he disappointed massively, trailing in last of the field and beaten over 8 lengths by the winner Cole Harden. After the race jockey AP McCoy said he thought AFC needs a fence now to show his best form and connections will be mulling over wether to take that route or not. I would be inclined to go for it, after all they do have the current World Hurdle Champion amongst their ranks! McCoy had a much better time of it on the hugely impressive Aurore D'Estruval, John Quinn's mare, as she won the listed Mares hurdle at an absolute canter. She looks certain to hold high rank in the Mares races this season, however you feel the only way that she can taste glory at Cheltenham in that race is if Annie Power goes for loftier targets. Hardly likely given the way Mullins used to farm the race with Quevega year in year out.

Whilst the feature race of the day may have been up at Wetherby we had an absolute feast of action elsewhere around the country with a cracking card down at Ascot. Ulck Du Lin was one Paul Nicholls inmate who certainly wasn't in need of the run as he took advantage of a tumbling handicap mark to hose up in the Bryne Group Handicap Chase. Claret Cloak was a very gallant 2nd but understandably struggled to give the winner a whopping 20lbs when the young jockey Sean Bowen's 7 lbs claim was accounted for. That 7 lbs is an absolute steal and with Sean's obvious talent I don't think he will be long in reducing that weight concession, definitely one to look out for in the saddle and it will be interesting to see if Nicholls tries to save his claim for these valuable handicap races.

Sean Bowen; a jockey to look out for

Dan Skelton carried on his great start to the season in taking the United House Gold Cup Handicap with What a Warrior, again ridden by brother Harry who still hasn't started getting the outside rides he no doubt deserves yet...maybe he needs a new agent!

Finally we must travel over the Irish Sea and onto Down Royal as they staged an absolute corker of a card, with the JNWine Champion Chase the highlight of the action. This has produced a few Gold Cup winners in it's time, notably the great Katuo Star, and could this year's winner Road to Riches be set to follow in Kauto's hoof prints? He's a 20/1 shot for Cheltenham Gold Cup glory on the back if this impressive all the way victory and I really don't think there is anything overly special amongst the current bunch of staying chasers; definitely a market where an improving horse could come through and make a huge impression in this year's renewal. He's apparently off to the Lexus next which could give us a better guide, but I really think a Championship race headed by Holywell (much to prove stepping up from Handicaps), Cue Card (does he stay?), Bobs Worth (Disappointing last year) and Silviniaco Conti (Does he get the trip around Cheltenham) is well worth targeting with a rapidly improving chaser like Road to Riches. Just don't tell the horse of his trainer's record at Prestbury Park!

Road to Riches followed up his Galway Plate success

Gigginstown had a cracking double on the Down Royal card as Don Cossack took the other big race on the card in the famous maroon silks. Bryan Cooper was back in big race winning form on top of Don Cossack and the Don finally looks like he could be starting to fulfil his huge and undoubted potential. Victory in the Irish Whiskey Chase opens up targets such as the King George and the Lexus, and if the Don can go on to be the horse so many people believe he could be then you would be a brace man to lay a price on victory in either of those two races.

I could go on for ages covering all the action this weekend, after all I haven't even touched on Sunday ! Here we saw Moscow Mannon impressively defeat Felix Yonger, the runner up having to give 9 lbs to his victor so certainly not disgracing himself. De Bromhead was hugely positive post race when talking of Moscow Mannon however, claiming that no horse in his yard can keep with him at home, so this career over Fences could well prove to be a fruitful one.   A horse I'm keen on, albeit with a lower profile, Un Ace got the first victory of his chasing career at Huntingdon, and Holywell, apparently a Gold Cup contender, made his re-appearance at Carlisle going down to Many Clouds and Eduard. McCoy said he wasn't disappointed with the performance but I will be a shocked and poorer man if Holywell is good enough to win a Gold Cup! It really has been a jam packed weekend and the National Hunt season hasn't even properly started for some yet! With less than 2 weeks to go until the Showcase meeting at Cheltenham Park though we are definitely going up a gear or two and we just look forward to the next weekend with glee at the moment....just like Philip Hobbs!

Thanks again for reading.

AB

Ante Post Focus - Charlie Hall Chase

This weekend see's the first big race of the National Hunt season, the Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby Racecourse, the lovely Yorkshire venue just off the A1. The ground looks like being decent jumping ground, not quite the bog last year's winner Harry Topper would want but not quick enough to scare any of the big guns away. The market is headed by Paul Nicholl's Silviniaco Conti at around about 5/4, miles too short for me given the stable form. Some of the stable seem to massively need the run whereas some of them look fit as a fiddle first-time up, and while the trainer has said his charge is plenty fit enough for this weekend I'm loath to take such a short price given my concerns about the yard, and the fact that this is certainly a prep run for the Betfair Haydock Chase in 3 weeks time. I'm definitely swerving the favourite here.

Wednesday saw trainer Mouse Morris declare his horse, First Lieutenant, for the big race at Down Royal at the weekend, meaning he would not be travelling over the Irish Sea to Wetherby and thus depriving the race of it's 2nd favourite in the market. This move saw Taquin Du Seuil shorten into around 4/1, and with race fitness on his side after his re-appearance run at Newton Abbot plus the fact he receives 5lbs from the favourite many people will see this as a good bet. Indeed if Taquin is to develop into the Gold Cup horse the stable hope he can be he should be going very close this weekend. I don't see the step up in trip being an issue, certainly last year he looked like appreciating a trip, and his jumping should stand him in good stead here. The champion jockey AP McCoy is back in the saddle on Saturday and if Taquin had turned up at Wetherby without his prep run at Newton Abbot he would probably be a deal shorter after his impressive Cheltenham success the time before. Instead he is around the 4/1 mark, rather than the 5/2 he would probably be otherwise, and you are getting a horse with a prep race on his side...ideal! Jonjo's charge certainly appeals more than Silviniaco Conti as an outright win bet in the Charlie Hall.

However I've got myself an e/w bet that I am most keen on for this race, and that's in the shape of 10/1 shot Medermit from the Alan King stable. King has his yard in flying form and I'm really keen on his admirable 10 year old especially given Medermit's record fresh; 2 out of his last 3 first time out appearances have resulted in victory. Furthermore we know this grey gelding gets the 25 furlong trip he will face on Saturday well after he rounded off last season with a commendable 4th in the Punchestown Gold Cup, something that isn't guaranteed for Taquin at a much shorter price. Finally Medermit gets 5lbs from Taquin, 6 from Double Ross and 10 from the likes of Conti and Menorah! At 10/1 I think medermit rates as a knocking e/w bet Ante-Post with 3 places on offer, especially given the likelihood of the field reducing in numbers come raceday which could lead to only 2 places on offer.

Advice

Medermit e/w 10/1

It's the start of british jumps time!

Well this Sunday marked the end of the Irish flat racing season, the clocks going back and the last group 1 race of the British flat racing season. Welcome back national hunt racing really! Aintree held their first meeting of the season and with decent cards coming at chepstow and wincanton  as well, as fans of the jumping scene we were not short of entertainment and I certainly enjoyed it. Perhaps a lot of readers will disagree with me but I must admit I was actually more entertained by the midweek action this week, seeing a few familiar hurdles go over fences like Deputy Dan, Far West and Puffin Billy, than the weekend action but as the weeks go by that is sure to change. From a punting point of view the victory of Spirit of Shankly was most welcome; I flagged the horse up in my Friday blog as my horse for the weekend and he did not disappoint me. However end of the aftertiming for me; to be fair I haven't my more winners to talk of!

Its a case of cheers to Charlie for my punting high point this weekend

       Hawk high, last year's Fred Winter winner, was a big drifter before the opening race but went on to take the opener on the card and should be interesting to follow for the year. However onto the main event....Wishful Thinking, who obviously had a breathing operation or two which we learned of AFTER the race, routed the field in the feature race on the Aintree card, the Money's Garden Old Roan Chase. Hobbs has his yard in fine fettle and this admirable 11 year old welcomed the good around on offer at the weekend, with the favourite Uxizandre back in 4th spot but sure to come on for the race and possibly the one to take out of the race with the winner sure to be clobbered by the handicapper for this win. At 11 years of age further improvements man not be that easy to find for Wishful Thinking and going up 10lbs won't make life easy for him. Bold Sir Brian trailer home in 9th but Lucinda Russell hadn't been going amazingly at the moment and BSB will surely come on for his first run in an absolute ago. When the stable are going a bit better I'll be looking for BSB to post a better performance on the back of his season pipeopener; he was once thought of as a Gold Cup horse so if he retains some of his old zest could surprise a lot of people next time up. Finally on this race Module looks set to go back down in trip and onto Cheltenham and its undulations for his next assignment after disappointing over this extended trip. Tom George said they were going a bit too quick for him on this flatter track so the stiffer Cheltenham course will suit his charge more and trainer was not too despondent post race.

The old boy done good

Aintree also had a nice veteran's race at 3:40 where pigeon island was smashed in the market all day long in the build-up to this one, only to get beat by a neck in a tight finish with Lie Forrit, from the aforementioned Lucinda Russell yard! Burton Port ran yet another stinker and I actually may have to resign myself to the fact this old warrior isn't chucked in off this ever declining mark sooner or later and is just past it!

One horse who is certainly not past it however was seen at Chepstow, where Blaklion really caught the attention when keeping up his 100% record for Nigel Twiston-Davies in the Persion War Novices Hurdle. After not starting at Cheltenham a week back this was much more like it from the 5 year old as he beat some decent opposition to win this Grade 2. I'm not sure what plans are for Blaklion from now but the way he beat Vincente and The Pirates Queen was really very impressive, definitely one to keep an eye on over these fort of trips this season. Sadly the really highly touted Son Du Berlais was fatally injured in behind, quite a loss to Nicky Henderson and connections and considerations are with them.
In the other features on the Chepstow card Regal Encore ran a stinker after being sent off as favourite in the Silver Trophy eventually won by Shelford from the red hot Skelton yard, what a fantastic double act Dan and Harry are! I'm actually surprised all of Harry's winners this season have been for brother Dan as he is proving himself a really useful jockey, however it must only be a matter of time before he starts to pick up a lot more outside rides as his talent in the saddle cannot really be questioned. In the last 14 days he has only had one ride for anyone bar his brother, on a 20/1 shot trainer by John Ferguson,  and it is a bit of a mystery to me why this is so. Am I missing something readers?

A potent combination

What else did we see over sticks this weekend? Well Sunday brought a rare shocker from McCoy in the saddle upon champagne present in the opener at Aintree. He really should have been notching up another winner on this one judging from his confidence in the saddle, however somehow Chicoria, an unfancied 33/1 shot, beat him too the winning post denying the champion jockey victory as he chases 300 winners for the season. As if his recent absence from the plate wasn't enough of a dent in these hopes; AP's cat will have had a real kicking tonight! Nicholls and Curtis both had doubles on the Sunday cards, Nicholls especially will be well welcoming this return to form after a patchy recent few weeks. He has said in a recent Betfair column that his stable are about a month behind so these early season winners, will in monetary terms not that valuable , in terms of stable confidence could prove vital in the coming weeks especially with Wetherby coming next weekend. Stable star Silviniaco Conti is set to contest the Charlie Hall and Rocky Creek (their big Grand National hope) is also set for a weekend appearance at Down Royal; it could be a great springboard for the yard going into the season proper.

Speaking of next weekend Wetherby is definitely shaping up to beat this weekend for me in the excitement stakes. Rumours of an appearance for World Hurdle Winner More of That were fuelled by McCoy's weekend comments, saying it wasn't an impossibility which would be really exciting for any jumps fan. Fingal Bay could start out over hurdles as he bids to take the Hennessy for Philip Hobbs as well but the Charlie Hall really could be an absolute cracker and blow everything else away. As mentioned Silviniaco Conti is a possible runner, as are First Lieutenant, Taquin Du Seuil, The Giant Bolster and Dynaste...wow! Definitely something to get you through the first week of leaving work every day in the darkness!

Once again thanks for reading and any comments much appreciated.

Alex

Week Review and the National Hunt game is getting lively

A few Nicholls winners (actually surprising after his stable's start to the season), a few familiar Cheltenham names back out and a Wayne Hutchinson injury...thats right the National Hunt season is really getting going now. I jest about the last part of that sequence, as a runner myself I know the disappointment of injury and Wayne seems to be a really unlucky jockey in this regard, but it has left Alan King in a tricky Jockey position for this weekend but not for the reasons he is used to! Usually he has trouble deciding whether Choc or Wayne ride his horses, but now with both potentially sidelined he has the task of finding some suitable substitutes for his weekend runners. However with the form of the stable currently I'm sure there will be a few agents on the phone at the moment trying to get a hot ride off King who is operating at a 38% strike rate over the last fortnight-sizzling!!!
We'v seen some useful performances this week, and yesterday saw a cracking Novice Chase fought out at Carlisle between Urban Hymn and Duke of Navan, the latter coming out on top by a head but undoubtably horses that will both be going places this season. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Urban Hymn upped in trip given his hurdling form came over further. whilst Duke of Navan will be kept at shorter trips as he has contested the Fighting Fifth and other shorter hurdling trips. Buywise, a very unlucky loser at last year's Cheltenham festival, made a winning re-appearance and was trimmed into 10/1 for this year's Paddy Power Gold Cup on the back of this. Trainer Evan Williams was hugely downbeat over his horse's fitness pre-race so to see him win, and win well, bodes well as he can be expected to come on hugely for the run.

                                                         Potential Paddy Power Gold Cup winner??

I really liked the run of Binge Drinker, the Rebecca Curtis winner of a maiden hurdle at Worcester on Wednesday. I had this horse in my tracker as one Curtis had urged readers of the highly informative ATR Stable Tours to keep an eye out for this season and in winning by 9L he certainly went some way to justifying his trainer's faith in him. It will be interesting to see where Curtis goes next with this one but look out for it wherever it goes.

Some losers for the week...firstly Philip Fenton who looks like reaching the end of his training career after being found guilty of possession of steroids and other banned substances. He has been fined, lost his Gigginstown horses and the punishment from the Irish Turf Club is yet to come. Rightly so...apparently they found enough steroid to dose 250 different horses, absolutely sickening behaviour and he has rightly been hung out to dry for this. I hope this sets a president for Drugs in the game, but I'm a bit concerned that this could only be the tip of the iceberg given the spate of drugs cases in the media recently. We can only wait and see and hope that these stories don't tarnish the reputation of the game too much but it certainly does not look good...at all.

                                           Disgraced trainer Philip Fenton

On a slightly lighter note let's look at some losers from the actual horse racing action on the track. Deputy Dan, a high class staying hurdler last year, made his comeback at Fontwell on Wednesday. I don't think he lost too much in going down to Virak over a trip too short and round a track that would have been plenty sharp enough. Deputy Dan jumped very well and whilst perhaps Oliver Sherwood will have to re-assess his sights this season it was no disaster of a performance and there are definitely wins to be had over fences this season.

Puffin Billy and Far West both went down at Exeter on this chasing debuts, being beaten well by Dunraven Storm, however with the form of the Nicholls horses not great thus far and Puffin Billy having been off injured for a long time I also wouldn't like to write the 2nd and 3rd placed horses off just yet even though they were very well beaten by the Philip Hobb's trained winner. Also on this card we saw a lot of losers in the Betfair in running markets as Go West Young Man took his name rather too literally in the 4:10. Jumping the last in the lead and looking for all the world (and 23K matched at 1.01) the winner Go West Young Man careered off to the West leaving Thundering Home, a 25/1 chance, to come and take the win. Go West Young Man eventually managed to finish 6th, incredible and definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.

We've got some cracking action coming up this weekend from Aintree and Chepstow, with the Old Roan Chase the highlight of it all. I won't go into the action in too much depth as decs are not yet out for the races but I would urge readers to keep an eye on Spirit of Shankly in whatever race he turns up in (has engagements at Chepstow and Aintree) as he received some hugely positive words from his trainer in this weeks Racing Post Weekender. Sadly we won't see Kauto Stone in the Old Roan Chase, I was really keen to see how he would get on after the stable change, but the race still looks to be a very open contest and will be a great watch regardless. I'll be back to review the weekend cards at some point so thanks for reading this blog and speak soon!

It's all about the jumps for me - welcome back Cheltenham!

Cheltenham is back! The weekend just gone saw the first fixture of the 2014-15 National Hunt season stages at Cheltenham and we saw some cracking action with a few old favourites back on our screens. All the big yards were represented, however unfortunately Champion jockey AP McCoy was not, forced to sit out the weekend after a crashing fall a week or so ago.

Let's start with the first race on Friday, where no doubt Present View ran a cracking trial for the Paddy Power Chase back at this course in November. Despite not really respecting his hurdles (he is a far better chaser anyway) and losing a shoe he only went down a head in the finish. We can also definitely expect him to come on for the run and he will be a major player in the November feature race. Losing Blaklion before the start was annoying, I thought he would run a huge race as I was really impressed with him at Perth when the Twiston Davis tram were not really firing but there will be other days for this one. I'm not too sure what the official reason was for the withdrawal but something occurred down the start and he didn't jump off with the rest of them.
Court Minstrel continues to impress over fences, readily winning the 2 mile Novices chase, a task made easier by the fall of the interesting Un Ace. I believe Aiden Coleman was really keen on the chances of Un Ace at the Festival last year so I was interested to see how he would take to the larger obstacles and I'll be looking to see where Kim Bailey turns this one out next providing that fall hasn't left it's mark. We won't be seeing Court Minstrel for a while with Evan Williams keen to avoid the deep winter ground, however when he comes back in spring it will be fascinating to see how his jumping holds up when really put under pressure. Trainer Williams had held concerns over Court Minstrel's jumping given the way he took his hurdles but to date CM has jumped really well, albeit when willing rather easily.
Unfortunately the fancied mare Highland Retreat was a disappointment in the 3m 1/2f Novices Chase on the card which went to The Romford Pele of the Rebecca Curtis yard. He did well to see of Lamb or Cod, whose poor jump at the last was a factor in his defeat as it really knocked him off stride, but the Barry Geraghty ridden horse still ended up winning well.
The easiest winner of the day was probably seen in the Maiden Hurdle, where John Ferguson's Commissioned absolutely hosed up, beating the highly touted (but disappointing on hurdles debut) Ballebolley. Barry Geraghty won't have too many easier winners (until we see the return of Sprinter Sacre....) this season but it was good to see Ballybolley at least improve on his debut. We will certainly be hearing a lot more of the winner and possibly the 2nd horse this season.

Onto Saturday where the most fascinating race on paper for me before the action kicked off was the 3.10, a 2 mile Hurdle where we saw the reappearance of last year's Triumph Hurdle winner Tiger Roll, unlucky 4th in that race Calipto and the Swinton Hurdle winner Ballyglasheen clashing. Tiger Roll had to give weight to the field with his previous Grade 1 win, definitely no easy task. However Gordon Elliott's charge battled manfully, perhaps he wanted it more than Calipto, and came away with victory by half a length. Given the weight he was giving away this was a hugely impressive re-appearance from Tiger Roll, however Elliott has his stable in far better form than Paul Nicholls at the moment and that could be worth bearing in mind. I don't want to take anything away from the winner though and his Cheltenham record is looking more than a little formidable now. Maybe not this year but a potential Champion Hurdler of the future?
I can't believe that John's Spirit managed to win the Handicap Chase at 2.35 for the 2nd year in a row! I thought he was weighted out of it, but I can never get a handle on the Jonjo horses; they win when I don't think they can and lose when I back them! Persian Snow and the winner finished a good distance ahead of the rest of the pack and surely both will come back here in November where they could reoppose in the Paddy Power Gold Cup which John's Spirit won last year. This was the 2nd half of a double for O'Neil after In the Rough won the opener on the card, carrying on his good form from the summer. I often wonder if the summer form will stand up when the big boys come out to play but In The Rough has now won four on the bounce so has definitely earned his keep for the yard! However this was another winner missed by McCoy, for whom this recent absence has been very costly in terms of winners missed as he targets 300 for the season. By the time he comes back he could well have seen 20 horses he would have been riding go on to win; how costly will that be at the end of the season when looking at his final haul?
I was really pleased to see Ulzana's Raid win for Alan King in the 4.25. I had noticed that a horse he had previously beaten had gone on to improve a stone in the handicap since and under Wayne Hutchinson he has gone on to get the hat-trick up here. Carrying top weight and beating a field as impressively as he did here makes me think that there could still be wins to come for this horse when he steps up into graded company, perhaps even over fences in time.
Splash of Ginge was another Twister horse to bounce back from a  poor run at Perth earlier this season, showing how important stable form can actually be, as he beat his previous conqueror Ainsi Fideles by a good distance in the penultimate race on the card. Finally we saw an impressive winner of a flat race in the closing race on the card as Moon Racer absolutely bolted up by 12 lengths and could have won by 20. Favourite backers never had a moments doubt and anyone chasing the day's losses would certainly have been pleased if they had got on this one.

I must touch on the flat briefly though as it was amazing to see Noble Mission win the Champion's Stakes at Ascot on British Champions Day, a day that Sir Henry Cecil worked so hard to create and make a success of. Sir Henry had the great Frankel to help him get a winner on the day and it was marvellous and very emotional to see his Widow Lady Cecil take the big race on the card with Noble Mission. I'm sure there will be a few raised glasses at Warren Place tonight and well deserved too.

Many thanks for reading and I'll be back next week as the National Hunt season begins to take over from it's Flat counterpart. British Champions Day really marks the end of the Flat season for me, even though we have Racing Post Trophy day still to come the focus is definitely on the action over obstacles now. If you are reading this on Saturday evening/Sunday morning we even had the reappearance of the top hurdler The New One at Kempton on Sunday to look forward too, even at huge odds on it will still be great to see the Twiston-Davis stable star back out.

Good luck!